Audit

The audit will be carried out by one of our auditors, who will contact you to make an appointment for the first audit visit.

Audit
    Planning, Phases, and Procedures

    First audit visit

    We will plan a convenient time and location with you for the audit to take place. He or she may request you to submit documentation that we must assess before this first visit.

    Normally, you will receive a confirmation of the arrival date and time of our auditor, his/her name and the planning of the visit, a so-called audit plan. The audit plan also indicates what kind of documents and which persons need to be available during the audit.

    Unannounced visit

    Please note that some standard owners dictate that unannounced audits must be done. If this is relevant, this will be clearly mentioned in your contract.

    We may also conduct an unannounced audits when we suspect that our certification statement may be in question, e.g. in the event of complaints or if we suspect serious non-compliance.

    Agriculture02
    Planning, Phases, and Procedures

    Audit process

    An audit process contains the following steps;

    During the audit

    During the visit, your activities will be fully reported. We request you to give auditors the right and the necessary assistance to access your premises and/or your production companies. We also request you to enable our auditor to audit the relevant accounts and to take samples for analysis. These samples, if required by CU, have to be placed free of charge at the disposal of the auditor.

    Main elements of an audit

    • The opening meeting, in which the following elements are explained and discussed: – Confirm the previously documented scope of the audit (departments involved, scope, products, etc). – The audit plan and who will be looking at what and when. – The aim of the audit is to seek objective evidence that the system plan (QMS) conforms to the standard and that the organisation complies with its own processes and procedures. – Confirm the logistical arrangements (office accommodation, meals, etc). – Verify that staff has been informed that the audit is taking place and confirm access to facilities and records. – Workers will be interviewed during the audit and request a list of employees and invite any questions about the audit. – Statement as to the confidentiality of the findings

    The actual audit

    Auditors will be looking for evidence of compliance with the standard. During the audit they will visit facilities, interview workers and managers. Also documents and records will be checked. During all these activities auditors review the effectiveness and implementation of your system and how it complies with the appropriate standard(s). Auditors use standardised forms to lay down findings in writing. During the audit they will raise issues that they consider will result in non-conformities to be presented at the closing meeting

    The closing meeting

    The closing meeting, containing the following elements: – Give an overall summary and conclusions. – Any follow up actions to be taken, if applicable. – The method of reporting. – Which non-conformities have been found, the grading of these non-conformities, and their implications. – Invite the auditees to discuss specific points and agree on dates for the corrective actions necessary.